Earlier this month, Instagram launched a brand new feature. A feature so unique, so ground-breaking and so unbelievably original that tech-lovers the world over were thrown into a frenzied state of appreciation.
Oh, wait. That’s definitely not what happened.
It’s like yours, but different
The innovative feature in question, Instagram Stories, lets users take and post videos and photos that magically vanish after 24 hours. Here’s how they announced it to the world.
Have we met before?
Sound familiar? Within seconds of the launch, thousands of people took to their smartphones to point out the alarming similarities with another well-known company’s feature. The company in question? Snapchat. The feature? Snapchat Stories.
Instagram MURDERS Snapchat
Not sure what all of the fuss is about? American filmmaker and vlogger Casey Neistat highlighted the similarities perfectly in a recent vlog on YouTube.
All’s fair in love and Silicon Valley?
So the question on everyone’s lips is this: was it legal for Instagram to copy Snapchat, or was it a dirty move by Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg?
Surprisingly, it was – technically at least – a perfectly legal move. Instagram’s CEO Kevin Systrom has certainly not hidden the fact that Instagram Stories owes a lot to Snapchat. In an interview with TechCrunch Systrom was open about who deserved the credit.
“When you are an innovator, that’s awesome. Just like Instagram deserves all the credit for bringing filters to the forefront. This isn’t about who invented something. This is about a format, and how you take it to a network and put your own spin on it…
Don’t you think that Snapchat’s done a really awesome job? And Facebook’s done a great job. And Instagram’s done a great job. I think all of these companies have done a great job. Some people invent stuff. We’ve invented things.
Gmail was not the first email client. Google Maps was certainly not the first map. The iPhone was definitely not the first phone. The question is what do you do with that format? What do you do with that idea? Do you build on it? Do you add new things? Are you trying to bring it in a new direction?”
Snapchat or Instagram? You decide
Have you tried Instagram Stories yet? How does it compare to Snapchat? Let us know what you think!
